Aragon Grand Prix Preview

Sep 22, 2015
4 min read

The 2015 MotoGP World Championship heads to Spain for the third time this year and to the Motorland Aragon circuit. Located in the Alcaniz region of the country, the circuit is one of the newer additions the to the Grand Prix calendar having been constructed in 2010 by the German architect, Herman Tilke.

The Aragon Grand Prix was a replacement for the failed Hungarian Grand Prix set to take place that year at the Balatenring, but was met with great praise from the riders and fans, and the event was subsequently awarded the IRTA “Race of the Year”accolade – the first time a début event had received the award. This was not the first time motor racing had been near the region however; the surrounding area is famed for its road racing.

At just over five kilometres long, it's one of the longer circuit son the 18-race calendar and contains a real technical mix of corners. As a result, tyre choice becomes very difficult. Shinji Aoki of Bridgestone states: “Motorland Aragon is a circuit with relatively smooth and slippery tarmac so there is a need for good mechanical grip which suggests softer compounds. However, there are also some long corners and some downhill braking points which require harder compounds, so tyre selection here is a balancing act. Generally, ambient temperatures at this time of year at Aragon are warm, but the elevation of the circuit means cooler temperatures are also possible, last year's race for example saw track track temperatures of only twenty degrees Celsius. This means that warm-up performance is also an important consideration when developing tyres for the Aragon Grand Prix.”

Honda have won three races at Aragon and currently hold the pole and race lap records so this should be a good weekend for the manufacturer, on Marc Marquez' side of the box anyway. The front tyre is given quite a workout on the left side due to the nature of some of the corners, so the RC213Vs running the 2015 frame (Pedrosa, Crutchlow, Redding) may encounter some difficulty as it is the front they have struggled the most with.

Marc Marquez: “After a strange race in Misano, I'm really looking forward to Aragon this weekend! This is my favourite track of the year and we've had good results in the past, despite last year's unfortunate rain-affected race! The first and final sections of the track are quite technical and you must work on the set-up to have good cornering. Let's hope this weekend we can have a 'normal' race weekend with good weather so we can work hard from the Friday and be ready for the fight on Sunday.”

Dani Pedrosa: “It was a disappointing race in Misano and I've already put it behind me. The last two years have been tricky for me in Aragon so I look forward to an incident free race this year! I enjoy going to Aragon and having the opportunity to race in front of our home fans, of course this gives you more motivation and we will all try and put on a good show for them. Let's see how the weather is and I hope to be in the battle for victory.”

The cooler track conditions will suit the Yamahas, with maybe Valentino Rossi benefiting the most as a result as the Italian spends less time on the edge of the tyre than team-mate Jorge Lorenzo. Rossi is yet to win at Aragon, and having extended his lead over Lorenzo to 23 points in San Marino he'll be keen to get that money off his back this weekend. Lorenzo has won one, but that was in the wet. His superior pace over the rest at certain points this year does give him an edge, but Marquez will be on his case throughout.

Suzuki and Aprilia look set for another tricky meeting. The uphill drags and long back-straight will really highlight their horsepower deficit, but the acceleration zones from very slow corners will be of some advantage as they will encounter less interference from the engine electronics. The colder conditions will be of benefit too, as the soft rear tyre will give them a few more tenths over those without.

The power nature of this circuit will give Ducati a better chance of fighting for the podium, but recent races suggests that they will still be lacking something to the top two manufacturers.

This race is, historically, the most important round of the season as the rider that leads the standings after the chequered flag has fallen goes onto win the championship. It's game on in Aragon!

Tyre Compounds:

Front – Soft, Medium, Hard

Rear (Factory) – Medium, Hard

Raer (Open) – Soft, Medium

Stats:

Circuit Length – 5.078km (3.155 miles)
Number of Corner – 17 (10 left, 7 right)
Longest Straight – 0.968km
Number of Laps – 23
Top Speed – 341.6km/h
Average Speed – 158km/h
Circuit Record – 1:48.565 (Dani Pedrosa, 2013)
Fastest Lap – 1:47.187 (Marc Marquez, 2014)
Most Poles – 2 (Casey Stoner, 2010 & 2011)
Most Wins – 2 (Marc Marquez, 2013 & 2014)

Previous Five Winners:

Jorge Lorenzo, Movistar Yamaha MotoGP YZR-M1, 2014
Marc Marquez, Repsol Honda Team RC213V, 2013
Dani Pedrosa, Repsol Honda Team RC213V, 2012
Casey Stoner, Repsol Honda Team RC212V, 2011
Casey Stoner, Ducati Team GP10, 2010

Classic Aragon Moment:

Last year's Aragon Grand Prix looked set to be another Marc Marquez victory, but the weather had other ideas. As the rain began to fall Jorge Lorenzo pre-empted the worsening track conditions and switched to wet bike. He made the call at the absolute right time. On the following lap Honda stayed out; with only a handful of laps left, they tried to just ride out the storm. But it proved a disastrous decision. Dani Pedrosa was flicked from his bike under braking for turn one, then Marquez went down at turn two. Lorenzo went onto win his first race of the season, whilst Aleix Espargaro locked elbows with Cal Crutchlow to just edge out the Briton for 2nd.

The Weekend Schedule:

Friday:

Moto3 FP1 – 08:00-08:40

MotoGP FP1 – 08:55-09:40

Moto2 FP1 – 09:55-10:40

Moto3 FP2 – 12:10-12:50

MotoGP FP2 – 13:05-13:50

Moto2 FP2 – 14:05-14:50

Saturday:

Moto3 FP3 – 08:00-08:40

MotoGP FP3 – 08:55-09:40

Moto2 FP3 – 09:55-10:40